1Sa 7, 1Sa 15 | ESV | STEP | And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill . And they consecrated his son Eleazar to have charge of the ark of the Lord .

1 And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord and brought it to the house of ^aAbinadab on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar to have charge of the ark of the Lord. 2 From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.

Samuel Judges Israel

3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, ^b“If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then ^cput away the foreign gods and the ^dAshtaroth from among you and ^edirect your heart to the Lord ^fand serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the Lord only.

5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at ^gMizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” 6 So they gathered at ^hMizpah ⁱand drew water and poured it out before the Lord ^jand fasted on that day and said there, ^k“We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah. 7 Now when the Philistines heard that the people of Israel had gathered at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the people of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 And the people of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” 9 So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. And ^lSamuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. 10 As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. ^mBut the Lord thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel. 11 And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them, as far as below Beth-car.

12 Then Samuel ⁿtook a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen ^{▼▼Hebrew; Septuagint, Syriac Jeshanah} and called its name Ebenezer; ^{▼▼ Ebenezer means stone of help} for he said, “Till now the Lord has helped us.” 13 ^qSo the Philistines were subdued and did not again enter the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 The cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath, and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was peace also between Israel and the Amorites.

15 ^rSamuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 And he went on a circuit year by year to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. And he judged Israel in all these places. 17 Then he would return to ^sRamah, for his home was there, and there also he judged Israel. ^tAnd he built there an altar to the Lord.

1 Samuel 15

The Lord Rejects Saul

1 And Samuel said to Saul, ^u“The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord. 2 Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel ^vin opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. 3 Now go and strike Amalek and ^wdevote to destruction ^{▼▼That is, set apart ( devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction); also verses 8, 9, 15, 18, 20, 21} all that they have. Do not spare them, ^ybut kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”

4 So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah. 5 And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. 6 Then Saul said to ^zthe Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. ^aaFor you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. 7 ^abAnd Saul defeated the Amalekites from ^acHavilah as far as ^adShur, which is east of Egypt. 8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive ^aeand devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 ^afBut Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew term is uncertain} and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.

10 The word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 ^ah“I regret ^{▼▼See also verses 29, 35} that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and ^ajhas not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night. 12 And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to ^akCarmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” 13 And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, ^al“Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” 14 And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, ^amfor the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.” 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.”

17 And Samuel said, ^an“Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. 18 And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? ^aoWhy did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?” 20 And Saul said to Samuel, ^ap“I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 21 ^aqBut the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” 22 And Samuel said,

^ar“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, ^asto obey is better than sacrifice,
and to listen than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and ^atidolatry.
Because ^auyou have rejected the word of the Lord,
^avhe has also rejected you from being king.”
24 Saul said to Samuel, ^aw“I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin and ^axreturn with me that I may bow before the Lord.” 26 And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. ^ayFor you have rejected the word of the Lord, ^azand the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 ^baAs Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. 28 And Samuel said to him, ^bb“The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. 29 And also the Glory of Israel ^bcwill not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” 30 Then he said, “I have sinned; yet ^bdhonor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, ^beand return with me, that I may bow before the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul bowed before the Lord.

32 Then Samuel said, “Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him cheerfully. ^{▼▼Or haltingly (compare Septuagint); the Hebrew is uncertain} Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” 33 And Samuel said, ^bg“As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord ^bhin Gilgal.

34 Then Samuel went ^bito Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in ^bjGibeah of Saul. 35 ^bkAnd Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, ^blbut Samuel grieved over Saul. ^bmAnd the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.